NCERT Solutions for Class 7 Social Science History Chapter 4: The Mughal Empire

The Mughals were the successors of two great ancestries of rulers. They were the descendants of the Mongol ruler, Genghis Khan, the Mongolian ruler who had ruled over parts of China and Central Asia and died in 1227 from their mother's side and were the successors of Timur who was the ruler of Iran, Iraq and modern-day Turkey and died in 1404 from their father's side.

The Mughals belonged to Chagatai, a branch of the Turks named after the second son of Genghis Khan, the Mongol leader. The Foundation of this empire was laid by Babur, who was a Chagatai Turk. Students are encouraged to explore more details about the Mughal Emperors and their Mughal Military Campaign.

Interestingly, they did not believe in the rule of primogeniture, where the eldest son inherited his father's estate, which being followed in many other dynasties so far. The method of inheritance was completely different from what was followed, the Timurid custom of coparcenary inheritance was followed, which meant a division of the inheritance amongst all the sons equally. The Mughals found themselves ruling an outsized territory because the Indian landmass involved a vast diversity of individuals and cultures, which was a very troublesome task to manage and control during the Middle Ages. However, they created and accomplished an empire what had appeared attainable in very little time, which was in stark contrast to their predecessors, and that is what this chapter will explain.